


Friends, Absent and Present

by kowaiyoukai



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alphabet Zen: Amusement, Disney Town, Dream Festival - Freeform, FanCon Amino Challenge, M/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11528757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kowaiyoukai/pseuds/kowaiyoukai
Summary: Sora convinces Master Yen Sid to let the four trainees have a break. They travel to Disney Town where King Mickey is hosting the Dream Festival. Yet not everyone is there who should be...





	Friends, Absent and Present

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as a response to the FanCon Amino's Alphabet Zen Amusement Challenge. I'm a leader of that amino, which is here: http://aminoapps.com/c/fancon-fandom-conversation. Come say hello and talk about multifandom stuff!
> 
> After having planned a longer fic that I had two weeks to write, I instead wrote this bit of fun, sappy nonsense in three hours of delirium at around 1:30 a.m. Enjoy.

The Dream Festival was in full swing and, according to Queen Minnie, would not be ending any time soon. Sora had heard about it from Aqua—not directly, of course. He still hadn’t met Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, but he knew someday he would. Well, apparently they had met when he was very young, but Sora wasn’t sure it counted if he couldn’t entirely remember it. Anyway, the way Master Yen Sid spoke about them had Sora knowing there was no way they could _never_ meet. Keyblade Masters had a connection, no matter where or when they were from. Still, the rumor of a great amusement park had been passed around for a little while. Between intense bouts of training with Riku, as well as showing Kairi and Lea all the tricks he had learned over the years, Sora was quite keen on any information he could obtain regarding anything that even _resembled_ fun.

That was why Sora had jumped at the chance to go. King Mickey had been visiting Master Yen Sid and mentioned that the Dream Festival was keeping Disney Town busy. Sora might have happened to be eavesdropping, only half-intentionally, so at this news he immediately interrupted and asked if the four of them could go. Only a few hours later, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Lea had boarded the gummi ship alongside King Mickey.

“We should be there in just a bit, a-ha!” the King said, nodding to himself as he went into the pilot’s seat.

“Good, ‘cause I’m not planning on wasting a day off from training,” Lea said. “In fact, this might be the only time I can get out of the castle in the next few weeks.” His face fell at that thought, but Sora certainly didn’t know why.

“Come on, Lea, lighten up!” Sora called out with a cheesy grin. “We’re getting some time off! There’s going to be all sorts of things to do at the Dream Festival!”

“Yeah, Lea,” Kairi added, gently poking him in the arm. “Of all of us, I thought you’d be the one most excited for some time off.”

“I am!” Lea insisted. He frowned. “I just… wish Roxas was here, that’s all.”

At that, the three of them fell silent. Their missing friend was one their minds—and not just Roxas, but all of their previous companions who were now noticeably absent—but there wasn’t a thing any of them could do about it right now. Instead, Sora glanced over to Riku, who had been sitting by himself towards the back of the ship. He moved over to Riku’s side and then sat down next to him, leaning his head back against the wall with a dull thunk.

“I wish we could help them.” Sora’s voice was quiet, thoughtful.

“I know,” Riku murmured, seemingly lost in thoughts of his own. “We will. Just not yet.”

Sora tilted his head sideways, leaning on Riku’s shoulder. “I thought it’d be nice to have some fun.”

Riku pressed a light kiss to the top of Sora’s head. “It will be. Lea will enjoy himself. Give him time.”

Sora nodded, already feeling better. Riku was right. Well, that was nothing new. What was new was their relationship. Sora had confessed his feelings a week ago in a jumbled blur of words and nervousness. Riku had not only accepted, but also returned Sora’s affection. They had begun dating right away. It was new to both of them and yet old in the way all comfortable things were—every day was a chance for experiences they could remember, but all those experiences only added on to the incredibly long list of what they had already been through together. So it was a new romance that felt worn-in, which was why Sora felt no hesitation at displaying his feelings in front of others. Riku seemed to not mind, either, and Kairi had only wished them well before giving them a very hearty ‘I told you so’. It was only Lea who seemed put off by their change in status, but Riku had assured Sora it was more due to jealousy than any sense of negativity. That combined with Lea’s comments about Roxas now meant Sora was finally understanding the problem.

“He should just go,” Sora stated, abrupt and certain.

“Hm?” Riku asked, staring out the window, watching the stars streak by at speeds he couldn’t even fathom.

“Lea. He should go find Roxas,” Sora explained.

Riku nodded once. “He wants to. But I think he wants to be sure how to handle a keyblade first.” He moved one arm to lightly encircle Sora’s shoulders, letting his hand dangle over and begin playing with the string on his boyfriend’s hoodie. “It’s a very different weapon compared to his chakrams.”

“Yeah…” Sora just trailed off, deciding he’d help however he could once it became clear. The idea of Lea and Roxas being apart forever really bothered him. He couldn’t imagine being separated from Riku for that long. In fact, whenever that situation had arisen in the past, Sora had specifically gone after Riku. Time and time again.

The gummi ship slowed down as it descended towards Disney Town. Lea jumped to his feet. “Finally! That only took _forever_ ,” he grumbled.

Kairi laughed at him. “That took about forty minutes,” she said, shaking her head.

“Yeah?” he asked, spreading his hands out in front of him. “Like I said. Forever.”

“We’re ready to land!” King Mickey shouted from the cockpit.

The ship came to a well-executed stop on a landing pad that seemed to be designated specifically for that purpose. The five of them filed out of the ship, with King Mickey bringing up the rear. Sora could immediately tell there was a festival going on. People were milling about, playing games, running from one place to another, and everyone seemed to be excited about something.

“This looks amazing,” Sora said, clearly getting excited himself. “Do you do this every year?”

“Every year? Nah,” King Mickey said. Then he smiled and threw up his hands. “We never close the rides!”

“Never?!” Sora and Lea shouted in unison.

“Nope.” The King leaned forward as if telling them a secret. “Our kingdom runs on the munny we make here.” He laughed loudly. “But, for you three, it’s no charge!”

Sora had shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking very distinctly about the fact he had no munny whatsoever on him. At that proclamation, he ran forward and hugged King Mickey. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

King Mickey hugged him back. “No problem, Sora! What are friends for?” Then the King pointed back towards the castle in the distance. “I have some work to get done, but I’ll be back at the gummi ship at sunset to take you all back to Master Yen Sid.”

The group said their goodbyes and headed in to the festival. The large variety of games and rides really stood out to Sora, who gaped at them and darted his head around, attempting to look in every direction at once.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Riku said, laughing. “Let’s just start at the beginning and go around, okay?”

Kairi grabbed onto Lea’s arm and began pulling him towards the Fruitball line. “Come on, Lea. I want to try this out. Feels like I haven’t played a sport since Tidus challenged everyone on Destiny Islands!”

Lea shook her off and clapped his hands loudly, rubbing them together. “A competition? Well, sign me up! I’m ready to kick some butt!”

The two went off towards the Fruitball line, which did look interesting to Sora, but he decided that Riku’s idea wasn’t too bad.

“From the beginning?” he asked, smiling up at Riku.

“Yeah,” Riku replied. “Let’s go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Overall, the day was a success. Sora got to try the go-karts (which he loved and excelled at thanks to his hysterical stomping on the gas pedal, as Riku called it), the dancing game (which he was okay at, but Riku really came through with his innate agility and ability to carry a tune), and even Fruitball (which both of them hated, but Lea and Kairi had improbably loved). There was only one thing left Sora really wanted to do, and that was spend a bit of alone time with Riku. He had been eyeing the ferris wheel all day long, but only just now were they getting to it.

“Relax, Sora, we’ve got time,” Riku said with a small shake of his head as Sora pulled him along.

“Riku! We don’t!” Sora pointed to the setting sun, which cast a fiery glow over all of Disney Town. “The King said we have to be back at the gummi ship by sunset, remember?”

Riku smirked. “They’re not going to leave without us, silly.”

Sora frowned slightly. “They might.” Then one corner of his mouth lifted upwards as he leaned into Riku. “Okay, you’re right, they won’t. But we should still be on time!”

“We will be,” Riku said. “Now let’s get in this last ride.”

Sora and Riku waited for the operator to stop a car and direct them to sit inside. Once they were seated, the ride began with a few extra stops to let people off and on. Riku lounged out comfortably on one side of the car while Sora sat all the way at the end of the other, pressing his face to the glass of the window.

“You can see all of Disney Town from up here!” He looked back to Riku, who was looking at Sora with a soft smile.

“Mm hm,” Riku answered, smiling wider as Sora began blushing.

“Oh God, Riku, shut up!” Sora kicked him, rocking the car a bit.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it!”

“Maybe I was,” Riku said. “So what? You gonna challenge me to a duel when we get off this ride?”

“No. But I should,” Sora replied. “You’re an instigator.”

Riku’s answering smirk just proved Sora’s point. Riku always had to challenge him, which was part of why Sora liked him so much. Maybe even loved?

“You’re blushing again,” Riku said, voice lowering. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing!” Sora leaned back against the seat and folded his arms across his chest. “You know, I wanted to kiss you up here, but you’re being difficult.”

Riku’s smirked morphed into a broad grin, spreading across his face instantly. “I’d like that,” he said, sincerely.

Sora rolled his eyes. “No way! You can’t tease me then expect me to kiss you.”

Riku nodded, his eyes twinkling. “I understand.” He reached out and held onto Sora’s hand, gently entwining their fingers together. “Is this okay?”

Sora bit his lower lip, feeling heat creep up his neck. “Uh, this? Y-Yeah, sure, this is fine.”

Riku smiled at him. “Good.”

The ride continued for a few minutes in peaceful silence. Just as the ferris wheel began to stop to let people off again, Sora pulled Riku closer by their joined hands and kissed him—once, briefly, more of a peck than anything else. Riku raised an eyebrow when Sora pulled back.

“Who knows when we’ll come back here and do this again? I didn’t want to miss this chance with you,” Sora explained.

Squeezing Sora’s hand, Riku stated, “Thank you. And I’m sorry for teasing you.”

Sora shrugged. “It’s okay. I think you’re just worried you won’t be able to beat me next time we spar.”

“Oh, really?” Riku asked, voice raising as he laughed.

“Yeah,” Sora said, grinning cheekily at his boyfriend. “Really.”

The ride came to a stop with both of them laughing, and they got out of the car in a happy daze. Sora slowly made his way towards the gummi ship, Riku at his side, but they only got to the center of town when they saw Lea and Kairi walking towards them.

“Hey, guys!” Kairi called out. “Have fun?”

Sora bounded up to Kairi and smiled at her. “We did! How about you?”

“It was a good day off,” Kairi replied. She looked to Lea, who seemed lost in thought. “What about you, Lea? Did you have a good time today?”

Lea nodded absent-mindedly. “Yeah. Yeah.”

Riku frowned slightly. “Lea, are you okay?”

There was a moment of tense silence during which it appeared that Lea was not planning on answering Riku’s question. Then, in a rush of breath, Lea said, “I’m not going back.” As if it were a surprise, a big announcement.

Sora blinked at him. “We know,” he stated.

Lea blinked back. “You do?”

“Well, yeah!” Sora laughed a little. “You have to go find a way to get Roxas back, right?”

“Right,” Lea said with conviction, nodding.

“I mean, you did say so earlier,” Sora said, shrugging.

“Did I?” Lea said. “I thought I was only thinking it.”

Sora smacked him on the shoulder a bit too hard. “Come on, Lea! You know the heart communicates better than words can!”

“He’s right,” Riku agreed. “It’s obvious he’s on your mind. You need to help him.”

“I am,” Lea quickly concurred. “I mean, I will. I’m going to.” He crossed his arms stubbornly. “That’s why I’m not going back.”

This pronouncement was entirely sensible to Sora. How else was Lea going to get Roxas back? Training was important, for sure, but training wasn’t going to get Lea a solution to the one problem that was keeping him up at night, that was bothering him most of all. Right as Sora opened his mouth to begin to say something, he wasn’t sure what, Kairi stepped forward.

“I’ll help,” Kairi stated, suddenly more decisive than she’d ever felt before.

Lea turned to her, surprised. “You will?” He titled his head slightly and pressed his teeth together—a small clack that showed his hesitance. “But you’re still training. I can’t take a trainee with me, now can I? I don’t even know where I’m going or how long it’ll take, and it just… wouldn’t be fair.”

Kairi rolled her eyes. “We’re both in training, dummy,” she said with a loud, overdramatic sigh. “And besides, what better way to train than experience out in the worlds?”

Riku smirked at Lea. “She’s right.”

“I know she’s right,” Lea snapped. “I just wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into! But okay, fine!” he acquiesced, throwing up his hands. With a heartfelt scowl, Lea stated, “I guess we’ll go together.”

Sora grinned widely, laughing before he could stop himself. “Hey!” he cried, teasing. “That’s my line!”

Gently elbowing Sora, Riku replied, “I think he means it differently than you did.”

Turning to look at Riku, Sora’s grin softened into a warm smile. “Well, yeah.”

“All right, see you guys later!” Lea shouted as he headed off towards the gummi ship. “Come on, Kairi, let’s go find Roxas. I need to explain to him a few things about what it means when someone tells you that you make them feel like they have a heart.” He pouted as he walked farther away. “Was it really too subtle? Or is he just an idiot?”

Kairi turned and quickly wrapped one arm around each of her best friends, bringing both boys in for a tight hug. “I’ll be back before you know it,” she said.

“We know.” Sora smiled at her, grinning as bright as the sun. “Make some friends! And have fun!”

“Stay safe,” Riku stated. “And remember to trust your instincts. You’re a keyblade wielder. Your heart will lead you in the right direction.”

Kairi nodded. “I will,” she replied, looking at both of them as she stepped away. “Same goes for you too! Don’t be stupid boys when I’m gone.” Sora looked embarrassed while Riku gave her an unimpressed look. Kairi only laughed. “Well, don’t!” she commanded. Without another word, Kairi strode confidently towards the gummi ship, already planning some strategies for how she and Lea could best work together. She’d trained for this. She was ready.

It was with mixed feelings that they watched Lea and Kairi head off on a new adventure. Sora felt a responsibility to Roxas, since he had a direct hand in creating him. Riku had some measure of guilt, as well—the attack near Memory’s Skyscraper stood out, as did his overall opinion that Sora was simply more important than the other boy. At the time, Riku hadn’t believed the two could coexist. Now, he thought there might be a chance.

“We’ll have to wait and see what they find.” Riku looked back to the festival. “It might take a while.”

“We have time,” Sora said, bright and carefree. “Besides, there are more rides I want to go on!” Sora reached out, tugging on Riku’s hand and dragging him towards the spinning wheels and blinking lights. Then he stopped short, not giving Riku any notice and causing the other boy to bump into him. Riku looked down at Sora, whose brows were furrowed together. “Wait…” Sora looked back over his shoulder after Kairi and Lea, confused. “If they’re taking the gummi ship, how are we getting back?”

Riku opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned around just in time to see the ship’s engines starting up, preparing to blast away into the sky. He threw a smirk in Sora’s direction right before he sprinted towards the ship, arms pumping as he ran just as he had done all those times on Destiny Island before any adventure as happened—when, in fact, the only adventure either boy could imagine was with each other.

Sora laughed, loud and free, as he followed behind, catching up with every step he took, knowing with all his heart that, even when he could overtake Riku and win, he’d rather run side by side, facing every new footfall and world and moment together.

_fin._


End file.
